Thread 42 Corona GCSE Cohort - 👻Creeping it Real for Oct22

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Be warned there might be lots of 'Uni Freshers' chat this time of year. My experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and advice to be had.

previous thread

Yes, I am 99% sure you are right but it feels like a long time ago now so I couldn't be 100% certain!

Woohoo @Piggywaspushed that's fantastic news. My DS is doing computer science and I think they do allow for transfers between other computer courses eg to software engineering etc but I guess they are quite related.
my DH is also Glaswegian and can come across as quite 'fighty'. He tells me that it's the Glaswegian clipped vowels make him seem that way....... I'm a southerner so not sure if that's true!

Yes, definitely right. It goes to school control when you pay and submit.

That’s great news on the course change @Piggywaspushed

Nothing much going on here. DS was going to a formal last night as the menu had changed! He’s all about the food…. DH and I have booked to go down 1 Dec and stay in Cambridge to bring him back on 3 Dec so we can do a museum that was shut when we dropped off and more importantly for me to Christmas shop in John Lewis!

That’s great news @Piggywaspushed
When does he have his first lecture?

Dd also says a lot of Psychology is repeating A Level (this was her excuse for skipping yesterday’s lecture!). She did tell me they had a test on Monday and she got 75%. That’s the most I’ve heard about the course to date!

She’s starting to think about who to live with next year 😩 it feels far too early!

Feels too early Crazy and then you read something like this:

thetab.com/uk/durham/2022/10/18/durham-students-left-to-sleep-on-the-streets-overnight-to-sign-houses-during-housing-crisis-50893

Ds actually called me last night for just under 2 mins. I'd ordered something for him to collect from the amazon locker. I forwarded the email but apparently no code on his email. So he called me to ask what the code was. I told him the code, he said yes, that's it, locker opened, thanks mum, bye. That was it. It was lovely to hear his voice anyway. He wanted a bowl to hand wash stuff, some laundry liquid and softener, bin bags, I ordered it all from Amazon. I also ordered one of those round things to hang socks on. Then as a surprise I'd ordered a giant bag of crispy M&M's. So 20 mins later I had a text thanking me. He said bag was huge. I asked for a photo, but I didn't hear back. Maybe today.

I have found you all again, hope all the DC's at Uni are settling in and are getting over their bouts of viral illnesses. Glad @Piggywaspushed your DC managed to change courses and @Oblomov22 hope you win your fight!
My DD has submitted her UCAS for Medicine- if she isn't successful this year she will look at other STEM courses.
She has to repeat her Chem, but got a high UCAT score so hopefully will get interviews.
She is working full time so Just need to build her confidence up before the interviews start in December.

Best of luck to her @coffeeandbiscuittime 🍀
Where has she applied?

icanbe. Laughing at phone call. Sorry. Sock hanger. Surprise M&M's. 🤣

I haven't replied to 19 meals email yet. I don't know what to say to him. I'm still narked though. 😡

Good luck to @Oblomov22 and huge congratulations to @Piggywaspushed! Also can confirm to @mummyinbeds that when a student clicks 'submit' it goes to their assigned UCAS referee. When the referee clicks 'submit' it actually then goes to the school's UCAS lead for double-checking, and only then does it actually get sent off.

Can hardly believe that DD has been away for six weeks now. She is still absolutely loving the structure of the illustration course and has had more new techniques thrown at her in a month than she had in two years of Fine Art A-level.

Here's some of her class-work.

Ds hadn't phoned me for a while. That's fine. Yesterday when I was at work we exchanged loads of whatapps. I sent him pictures of the lasagne I made for his cousin who came to visit (same age, just started at a London Uni) to make him jealous, because it was my best one yet, with loads of layers of pasta. Nowhere near as good as this. But better than my norm. He sent pictures of logarithms from his lecture which he knows I love, I told him off for texting me and not concentrating. He said it was fine because it was easy stuff at this stage.

He seems fine. I'm missing him right now. But all is good. I hope he's having a blast!

Ds phoned me last night too. Unfortunately it was to tell me of some bad news one of his friends had had. Can't say much as it's someone else's private info but it has made us all very cross.

Photo I really like that 2nd one, with the red sky and the climbing plants.

Thanks @PhotoDad @Monkey2001 UCAS application is submitted and hopefully now with school. No more changing her mind 😁 From her initial requirement of a uni near a beach, only one is on the coast and is probably her fifth choice. I'm so glad that this part of the process is out of the way. Back to her NEA now...

@singingstones DD has applied for Newcastle, HYMS, Sheffield and Bristol. Newcastle want A star in a resit, so aspirational but my DSis lives in Newcastle , the other three are relatively close to home ( NW leics), so not too far.
She is working full time at her old school tutoring A level students in sciences- to catch up with lapses due to COVID ( which our kids didn't get but at least it's happening now).
I think a gap year for medicine isn't a bad thing as it gives them time to actually think 'do I really want to do this?' . Hopefully she will be successful this time but if not she will do something related to STEM.
I am being kept company with @Monkey2001 who is a font of knowledge!

@Oblomov22 Ds has been moaning that he can't get get clothes dry. Nowhere to hang wet socks etc. He also wants to do hand washing. Everyone else has a bowl. So I sent equipment to hand wash. I didn't tell him that his drying problem will be worse after hand washing though 🤣

Great pics @PhotoDad

Really missing my son today. He’s only been away not quite three weeks but I don’t think we’ll get to see him until he’s home for Christmas and it seems so far away still. Bit sad😢

He’s fine though, super busy. He’s been invited to a thing tonight for North East students…wonder if he’ll see your dd there @ProggyMat ?

@icanbewhatiwant maybe he needs a salad spinner!

@ScarlettDarling I won’t see DD until she’s home on 3rd December either but they’re both 3 weeks in and it won’t be long until they’re back ‘oop North’ !
DD hasn’t mentioned an event for North East students being held tonight but Thursdays, for her, are submit essay in advance of her Friday tutorial then go clubbing with mates! 😂

@Monkey2001 yes he might need one after washing socks and underwear by hand 😂 he sent me a photo of his tidy room. The sun was shining through the full length window. I said put the airer in the sun. But I can it's where his desk chair goes...so a bit awkward.

I love a good sock hanger.

@ProggyMat Today’s been a big deadline day for my ds too so he’s looking forward to a night off tonight. He’s going to the NE do for the free dinner and then is off out out for his friend’s birthday!!

@coffeeandbiscuittime DD is absolutely loving Newcastle!